The Disadvantages of Dried Fruit

Raisins are relatively high on the glycemic index.

Dried fruits are a healthy addition to your diet, but if you don't control your portions, they may have adverse effects on your weight. Portion sizes are small, usually about 2 tablespoons, so snacking straight from the bag may lead to overeating. Read the nutrition facts labels on your favorite dried fruits. Avoid varieties that have added sugar or that are sweetened with fruit juice, to minimize excessive calorie and sugar intake.

Gastrointestinal Problems

Dried fruits are high in fiber. You need fiber in your diet to improve regularity and promote bowel health, but too much fiber bothers your gut, especially if you do not normally consume high-fiber foods. Dried fruits may cause you to have gas, abdominal cramping, bloating, constipation or possibly diarrhea. Avoid these negative effects by keeping your dried fruit intake to a small amount each day or split your portion into two separate servings. If you need to boost your fiber intake, slowly increase it over a period of several weeks. Have an extra one or two pieces of dried fruit every couple of days, as tolerated, until you are able to eat a full serving without having gastrointestinal upset.

Weight Gain

The small portion size of dried fruit makes it easy to overdo it. It takes an excess of 3,500 calories in your diet to gain 1 pound, explains MayoClinic.com. Consuming an extra 250 calories per day from dried fruit could contribute to as much as 2 pounds of weight gain in a one-month time frame. Portion your serving of dried fruit before you start eating to minimize your caloric intake. Single servings include eight apricot halves, three dates, 2 tablespoons of dried cranberries or blueberries, 1 1/2 dried figs or three prunes. Each of these servings provides about 60 calories.

Tooth Decay

Dried fruits have natural sugar in the form of fructose, which is fruit sugar. Some types of dried fruits are coated in additional sugar to keep moisture levels to a minimum and to prevent the dried fruit from sticking to each other. Sugar is one of the main contributors to tooth decay. Sticky foods, such as dried fruits, are especially harmful because they stick to your teeth, forcing the sugar to stay on the teeth for a longer period of time. Minimize your risk of tooth decay by drinking water while snacking on dried fruit. Brush and floss your teeth as soon as possible after eating to remove the sugar from the surface of your teeth.

Sugar Crash

Some dried fruits, especially sugar-coated varieties, are high on the glycemic index. The scale rates foods from 1 to 100. Foods with a high glycemic index rating cause your blood sugar to surge, making you feel quickly energized. Unfortunately, once you hit the energy peak, your blood sugar quickly drops and you may experience a sugar crash, or sudden fatigue. Raisins are somewhat high on the glycemic index scale, having a rating of 64, according to Harvard Medical School. Dates are right in the middle of the glycemic index. Prunes are one of the few dried fruits that have a low glycemic index rating. This type of dried fruit has a rating of 29 on the scale.